Senior Guinea Pig Alone

[amelchor005]

Hello everyone, it's been YEARS since I last posted here (so long that both of my guinea pigs in my PFP are long deceased) . Anyways, my current guinea pig, Lucy, lost her cage mate today due to kidney problems and she is alone once again. She also had another mate last year but died due to age complications. I talked to my mom about adopting another guinea pig but she advised me to let her be alone since she is getting pretty old. Lucy is currently 5 years old and will turn 6 this June. I'm not sure how to handle this situation because I don't want her to be alone in her final years of her life. I've heard it's fine for a guinea pig to not have cage mates as long as the owner interacts with it plenty of times but I have my doubts. Although, I wouldn't mind hanging out with Lucy frequently as long as she does not feel lonely.

Should I leave her alone or adopt another one? My mom's main concern is this cycle of adopting another guinea pig after a cage mate dies will never end and I completely understand it. Should I adopt another piggie temporarily and return her back to the shelter once Lucy dies? What are your guys experience about this (or what would you do in my position)?

 

[RedLoredAmazon]

Have you considered fostering guinea pigs? I foster guinea pigs for a local rescue and they are always looking for someone to help out fostering. I'm not sure if you have any rescues near you, but that could be a solution for you. When the day comes for me to stop adopting more piggies for my lone pig, this is my plan.

Hoping for the best for you and your piggy!

 

[Deleted member 154637]

Hello everyone, it's been YEARS since I last posted here (so long that both of my guinea pigs in my PFP are long deceased) . Anyways, my current guinea pig, Lucy, lost her cage mate today due to kidney problems and she is alone once again. She also had another mate last year but died due to age complications. I talked to my mom about adopting another guinea pig but she advised me to let her be alone since she is getting pretty old. Lucy is currently 5 years old and will turn 6 this June. I'm not sure how to handle this situation because I don't want her to be alone in her final years of her life. I've heard it's fine for a guinea pig to not have cage mates as long as the owner interacts with it plenty of times but I have my doubts. Although, I wouldn't mind hanging out with Lucy frequently as long as she does not feel lonely.

Should I leave her alone or adopt another one? My mom's main concern is this cycle of adopting another guinea pig after a cage mate dies will never end and I completely understand it. Should I adopt another piggie temporarily and return her back to the shelter once Lucy dies? What are your guys experience about this (or what would you do in my position)?

Well I asked some of the forum staff the same question earlier about my young guinea pig who has been alone since I first got him. They said despite what you and I have heard about it being ok as long as they have quite enough human interaction it pales to another piggy friend. But in this situation I think you may want to just seen your time with this guinea pig. As long as you provide her care and cuddles I think she would be happy. However if you are planning to get more anyway you could get another although as you said you would have to get another after that one passed.

 

[Merab]

So sorry for your loss.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve.

Three of us who have recently lost piggies have found new homes for the lone survivor.
My Ruth went to live with a forum member who is also a friend and has a herd of her own.
At the moment she’s happily living alongside the others.
As @RedLoredAmazon said, fostering could be a good option

 

[Bill & Ted]

If you could foster that would be a great solution, sorry you lost Lucy’s friend

 

[amelchor005]

I think I should've clarrified that I still want to keep Lucy haha. I have no intentions of getting rid of her, as she has been a great part of my life since I was 17 and I want to be on her side until the day she dies. Although, I guess I could adopt another one for the last time once Lucy is no longer with me and then foster the adopted one. I think I'll settle with this solution but if anyone else would like to input more suggestions or comments, I'm all ears. Thank you guys for the responses!